The Z.VEX Fuzz Factory is an amazing little fuzz pedal designed by musical and electrical wizard Zachary Vex. I was introduced to it through Matt Bellamy‘s unique guitar style, and fell in love with its out-of-this-world sound. While I was tempted to buy a Z.VEX original for their beautiful hand-painted cases, I decided to save a few bucks and make my own.
I found a schematic drawn up by Bbrzycki, who made a Fuzz Factory for himself. After some initial breadboarding, I drew up a PCB and ordered a few from OSH Park (gotta love those purple PCBs). The real FF uses AC128 Germanium transistors, which, as it turns out, are very hard to find. I bought a ton of Ge transistors, including the AC125 and the GT308V, which is used in the Russian Fuzz Factory 7. Testing different transistors is a ton of fun, as each gives the pedal a unique sound. For the case, I popped holes in a Hammond case and salt water etched the graphics into it.
The final product sounds just like the original and was a ton of fun to design and build. Now I just need to get better at playing the guitar…
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- The circuit board
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- Flip side of the board, featuring backwards potentiometers
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- The case with holes drilled
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- Electronics installed!
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- Using nail polish as an etching mask
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- Graphics lasered in the nail polish layer
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- Post-etch and nail polish removal
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- Melting wax into the grooves
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- The final product!
